Thursday Thoughts #7

If you’re a regular Sew You Think You Can Cook reader, you know that we have just relocated from the Florida Panhandle to the Miami Valley of Ohio. We opted to do a partial dity move, in which the Air Force hired and paid movers to transport the majority of our belongings and we took some of our items ourselves.

There are a lot of horror stories when it comes to military moves, and I’m happy to say we aren’t one of them. No, things didn’t go perfectly – bookcases, an entertainment unit, and a desk were broken; our ladder got lost along the way; a large vase broken; board game boxes crushed by bowling balls; and two boxes were investigated by mice.

I read other blog posts on moving tips and attended PCS meetings. We’d heard that the packers will pack literally everything – including the trash. While I couldn’t imagine that being true, I can see how it could happen. Our packers assured us they wouldn’t pack the trash (and I had all garbage cans emptied before they arrived), they did move everything. The night before the packers showed up, I went through the fridge and pantry and invited Kate over to come grocery shop. I had forgotten to get rid of the left over items (like the opened box of cereal and graham crackers) and they got packed along with the unopened boxes of pasta, rice, and canned foods. This box is one of the two that was of particular interest to the mice. The neighboring box (which happened to be my fabric stash) also got hit – and I lost a nice roll of batting.

Learning from other’s experiences I knew that I wouldn’t trust my grandmother’s antique secretary desk to the movers. And I am beyond grateful to my in-laws for helping us move this piece of furniture. If cheap pieces of furniture were broken – I can’t begin to imagine what might of happened to my antique. Other things I didn’t want to lose included – scrapbooks, quilts, and personal documents.

And then there were the necessities – everything that Wesley would need for the week, and anything we would need as well. I can’t stress this point enough – IF YOU HAVE LITTLE CHILDREN, MOVE THEIR THINGS YOURSELF. We spent 3 days in our new home before our delivery. That also means – don’t forget to pack a uniform. It’s a good thing we had one uniform set in our suitcase because Stuart had to report before our boxes arrived.

My last piece of advice – get help! Stuart’s parents helped with the move and my mom helped with the unpacking. Even with the extra hands, half of my house is in disarray!